The Haute Food Co. @ Plaza Damas, Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur

illustrations by Sam Hepburn from www.samhepburn.com


Monday blues...don't we all have them especially after immensely fun weekends. Luckily we have television channels that bring on the comedies and places like The Haute Food Co. with their sweets to help us combat those oh-so-sad feelings.



decadent caramel pecan cheesecake

This place has been on the horizon for quite some time as my curiousity was piqued when Facebook friends moaned and groaned when they couldn't get their weekly dose of sticky date pudding. Sounded pretty awesome hence when I finally had the time, I slowly explored this place. It's kinda tucked away within the maze of Plaza Damas but once you get the directions right the first time, you can quickly find it.

a little sugar definitely perks up Monday, carrot cake and yoghurt crumble cake

In terms of ambiance, there's not much as it is a super small cafe (not big enough to swing a cat I reckon) and tables are cramped within the shop area. However, there are tables outside where you can dine al-fresco. It's super packed during lunch time with students from the nearby Taylors College, people from the offices and even Japanese housewives who live at the upstairs apartments.

the sticky date pudding with a caramel sauce my friends love

For savoury bites, you have a choice between the regular menu of grilled sandwiches, breakfast items (like eggs and fry ups), sandwiches or the daily menu specials. Most of the customers here are regulars hence they usually go for the daily menu specials that can be a choice for a soup, a vegetable tart, baked potato, stews and etc. If I am not mistaken, the daily specials are about RM15.90.

grilled sandwich of roast beef, caramelised onions, the Ollie, pumpkin and spinach tart

I do like their grilled sandwiches as it's pretty substantial and best of all, it comes with a nice crisp salad of cos lettuce leaves, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. You get a choice of white, multigrain or ryebread for your sandwiches. The roast beef sandwich  (RM13.50) I tried is layered thickly with slices of roast beef and a generous portion of caramelised onions to give it flavour. The whole combination is finished with mizuna leaves to give it a slight peppery kick. While the club sandwich is not toasted, it is still gorgeous as it is served with a soft floury buns (I call them baps as they remind me of the ones from university days), grilled chicken breast, beef bacon, cheese, fried egg, mustard mayonnaise and caramelised onions (RM15.90). On other occasions, I've sampled the pumpkin and spinach tart (chockfull of chunks of pumpkin which I liked), the mushroom soup which was nice but a bit watered down and my friend sampled the baked potatoes which was a bit underseasoned.

scones and lemon poppy berry tartlets done Hipstamic style


For the sweet side of things, I found not everything tasted fantastic even though I applaud them for baking cakes the more naturel way (i.e. without lashings of cream and the atypical sponge cake). The sticky date pudding was very good with a scoop of ice cream especially served hot. A teeny weeny bit sweet at the end (when it gets a bit cold) but like a friend of mine put it, date puddings need to be sweet or else how would it tasted nice. I also sampled other cakes such as the carrot cake and the yoghurt crumble cake. Even though the carrot cake was a sight to behold with a super pretty topping of dried fruits and pumpkin seeds, a thick layer of cream cheese, chock full of chopped nuts in the cake, I felt the taste was very one dimensional as all I could taste was a lot of brown sugar within. The yoghurt crumble also looked enticing but didn't have much taste to it even though it had a nice soft texture especially after being warmed up. I did however strike gold with their caramel pecan cheesecake - a toothsome baked cheesecake variety with just the right soft texture with the balance of cream cheese within and a decadent caramel bits, pecan and chocolate chip topping. It was so good, I couldn't resist taking back another piece and even the girl next to my table decided to pack one home. My only gripe is the cheesecake is not always available since they do a rotation basis for the cheesecakes.


In conclusion, I do like this little place which I call my secret lunch hideout. It's especially pleasant if you avoid the crazy lunch crowd and partake in a late lunch so you can slowly savour the food and explore their sweets. Their scones are somewhat famous too, so that will definitely be on my next agenda provided I don't get distracted with other attractive sweets.

The Haute Food Co.
H-0-2, Block H
Plaza Damas
60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-6201 3168


(Pork Free. The pretty illustrations are from Sam Hephurn who is based here, so contact vide http://www.samhepburn.com/. Open from 10am to 5pm. Closed on Tuesdays. For the Raya break, they are closed from 10 to 14 September. To get here, at the top level of Hartamas Shopping Centre, go through the glass doors. You will see Aji Don across the road. Cross road, keep right and turn right after the kopitiam. Walk down and when you see the blue and white awnings, this is Haute Food Co. For more pictures, see my Flickr set)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

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